Entitlement
I was reading @blanchy's post about his upcoming trip to the Big Apple and mentioned the tipping culture in the United States. To be honest I have seen some stupid things on Twitter (X) regarding tipping, but never knew it was that bad. I find the whole situation ludicrous and would pay what I thought was right depending on the standard of service I had received.
My father owned several successful restaurants and it was up to the restaurant to pay the salaries and not the patrons. I went out for lunch today and the tip I paid was slightly over 10% when I rounded off the numbers.
Would I ever pay 25% or 30% and the answer is a definite no no matter how good the service was as that is your job. I think the most I have paid is 20% because the service was that good and made the evening even more special, but that is an exception and not the norm.
When I was in France recently the tips were standard being 10% and the taxi drivers extra was keep the change. Restaurants and anyone related to the service industry is grateful for your custom and that is how it should be and not something that is expected. Thee was one occasion which there was no tip because the service was that bad and did not justify the extras. If it had been added to the bill I simply would have short paid.
The entitlement of staff is seriously bad and it may be how people view the job. In Europe and most places around the world a waiting job is a temporary job that normally helps out students whilst at university and is not seen as a career or full time gig. Maybe in America these are considered full time jobs and even more reason to pay them a living wage.
The idea that a customer is being asked to pay an extra 20 or 25% on top of the bill I find bizarre and scary. One of the comments even mentioned this is expected even if you are collecting a take away and that I would refuse point blanc as there s no difference than going into a shop and buying items and then being asked to pay the tellers salary.
Over in South Africa we have jobs that are not really jobs like petrol pump attendants who do the job we all have to do in other countries. Once they are done I do tend to give them a bus fare type of tip but that is what tips are for. Not everyone does this either and it is if you have change lying around.
Funny enough driving this afternoon I saw a beggar had a board and on that bard he was asking for notes with a list highlighting R20, R50 and R100. I am not 100% sure if he is joking or not and I hope he is because he will get nothing.
Car guards are another unique useless job that has been created in this country where people in uniform which is more like a shirt highlighting they are legit. These car guards stand around in the car park acting like they have kept your car safe and expect payment. Shops pay them a monthly wage or a shopping precinct does and I am sure it is very low.
With society turning cashless these days they even have their own payment apps which is also kind of crazy. You can almost see it a beggar asking for money and you can pay by tapping your phone against his smart phone.
This idea of tipping automatically whether the service is good or bad has to end and should be up to the customer. I know if I was being asked to pay 20% on my bill or more I would refuse and would stop going out to eat as there is no value in this.
What Americans have to understand is what they have allowed to happen is not considered normal by the rest of the world. When we go on holiday we have a budget and to think now we are asked to find another 20% for all meals or a taxi ride is not being realistic.